Active matter under cyclic stretch: Modeling microtubule alignment and bundling.

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Biophysics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Microtubule (MT) motility assays exhibit characteristic pattern dynamics under uniaxial cyclic substrate stretching.
• Understanding the behavior of self-propelled particles is crucial in active matter research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the behavior of self-propelled particles subjected to cyclic stretching.
• To develop a model that reproduces experimentally observed microtubule patterns.
• To explore collective responses of active matter to substrate deformations.

Main Methods:

• Development of a self-propelled particle model.
• Incorporation of elastic energy due to substrate deformation into the model.
• Simulation of particle behavior under cyclic stretching.

Main Results:

• The model successfully reproduced experimentally observed microtubule (MT) patterns.
• The model demonstrated the influence of elastic energy on particle behavior.
• The framework allows for systematic exploration of collective responses.

Conclusions:

• The developed model accurately captures MT pattern dynamics under cyclic stretching.
• The model provides a general framework for studying active matter systems.
• Potential applications exist for manipulating MT patterns and other active matter systems.